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Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act, 1998 (Act No. 95 of 1998)

1. Definitions

 

 

In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise-

 

"business of a home builder"

means-

a) to construct or to undertake to construct a home or to cause a home to be constructed for any person;
b) to construct a home for the purposes of sale, leasing, renting out or otherwise disposing of such home;
c) to sell or to otherwise dispose of a home contemplated in paragraph (a) or (b) as a principal; or
d) to conduct any other activity that may be prescribed by the Minister for the purposes of this definition.

 

"Chief Executive Officer"

means the Chief Executive Officer appointed in terms of section 6;

 

"Companies Act, 1973"

means the Companies Act, 1973 (Act No. 61 of 1973);

 

"competent person"

is a registered person in terms of the Engineering Professions of South Africa Act, 1990 (Act No. 114 of 1990), or a person registered in terms of section 11 of the Natural Scientific Professions Act, 1993 (Act No. 106 of 1993), and holding the indemnity insurance prescribed by the Council in respect of the certification of-

a) the appropriateness of design and construction of homes;
b) compliance with the Home Building Manual; and
c) any other matter that may be required to be certified in terms of the Home Building Manual;

 

"Council"

means the National Home Builders Registration Council established by section 2;

 

"Council Advisory Committee"

means the Council Advisory Committee on National Home Builders Registration Council Matters established in terms of section 23;

 

"court"

means a competent court within its area of jurisdiction;

 

"Director-General"

means the Director-General of the Department of Housing;

 

"enrolment"

means the submission by a home builder of a request for a particular home to be entered into the records of the Council and the completed acceptance thereof by the Council in terms of section 14(1) or (2), as the case may be;

 

"enrolment fee"

means a fee prescribed by the Council under section 7(1)(a)(iii);

 

"fund"

means a fund contemplated in section 15(4) or (5);

 

"funds advisory committee"

means the funds advisory committee established in terms of section 16(2);

 

"home"

means any dwelling unit constructed or to be constructed by a home builder, after the commencement of this Act, for residential purposes or partially for residential purposes, including any structure prescribed by the Minister for the purposes of this definition or for the purposes of any specific provision of this Act, but does not include any category of dwelling unit prescribed by the Minister;

 

"home builder"

means-

a) a person who carries on the business of a home builder; or
b) an owner builder who has not applied for exemption in terms of section 10A.

 

"Home Building Manual"

means the Home Building Manual published by the Council in terms of section 12;

 

"housing consumer"

means a person who is in the process of acquiring or has acquired a home and includes such person’s successor in title;

 

"inspector"

means an inspector referred to in section 19;

 

"late enrolment"

means the submission by a home builder of a request for a particular home to be entered into the records of the Council after construction of such home has started in contravention of section 14;

 

"local government body"

means a local government body as defined in section 1 of the Local Government Transition Act, 1993 (Act No. 209 of 1993);

 

"major structural defect"

means a defect which gives rise or which is likely to give rise to damage of such severity that it affects or is likely to affect the structural integrity of a home and which requires complete or partial rebuilding of the home or extensive repair work to it, subject to the limitations, qualifications or exclusions that may be prescribed by the Minister;

 

"MEC"

means the member of the Executive Council of a province designated by the Premier of that province to be responsible for housing matters in the province;

 

"Minister"

means the Minister of Housing;

 

"National Housing Code"

means—

a) the National Housing Code contemplated in section 4 of the Housing Act, 1997 (Act No. 107 of 1997); or
b) any other policy or administrative or procedural guidelines issued in terms of the Housing Act, 1997 (Act No. 107 of 1997), which repeals or replaces the National Housing Code;

 

"NHBRC Technical Requirements"

means the requirements prescribed under section 7(2)(d);

 

"non-declared late enrolment"

means enrolment where a home builder has not declared the fact that construction of the home had commenced at the time of enrolment and that fact is detected by the Council;

 

"occupation date"

means the date on which the housing consumer first acquiring the home accepts the home as reflected in a document confirming such acceptance and, in the event of such document not having been received by the Council or the Council for any reason not being able to determine such date, the date reflected in the certificate of occupancy issued by the relevant local government body contemplated in section 14 of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act, 1977 (Act No. 103 of 1977);

 

"organ of state"

means an organ of state as defined in section 239 of the Constitution;

 

"owner builder"

means-

a) a person who builds a home for occupation by himself or herself; or
b) a person who is not a registered home builder and who assists a person contemplated in paragraph (a) in the building of his or her home;

 

"PHP Project"

means a housing project approved in terms of Chapter 8 of Part 3 of the National Housing Code: Housing Subsidy Scheme: People's Housing Process;

 

"prescribe"

means, in relation to-

a) the Minister, except in section 4(6), prescribe by regulation in the Gazette after consultation with the Council; and
b) the Council, except in section 7(1) or 29(1), prescribe in a circular to all registered home builders;

 

"provincial housing development board"

means a provincial housing development board referred to in section 8 of the Housing Act, 1997 (Act No. 107 of 1997), and any successor in title or any agent of such board, including any department responsible for housing in a provincial administration and any organ of state which may grant a state housing subsidy or any entity to which such power has been delegated or granted in terms of any law;

 

"registered home builder"

means a home builder registered with the Council in terms of this Act;

 

"regulation"

means a regulation made under this Act;

 

"Rules"

means the Rules of the Council prescribed under section 7;

 

"state housing subsidy"

means any national housing programme under section 3(4)(g) of the Housing Act, 1997 (Act No. 107 of 1997), including the housing assistance measures referred to in section 3(5) of the said Act;

 

"this Act"

includes any regulation, the Rules, the Home Building Manual and any circular prescribing any matter that a home builder has to comply with in terms of this Act.